Clouds
by ink teardrops
Summary: "At night, Luna would curl up in her favourite seat next to the largest window in Ravenclaw Tower, and watch, through the silk blue curtains, how clouds were illuminated by starlight, and how they drifted freely across the velvety heavens." / A glimpse into the life of Luna Lovegood


**A/N: This is just a short one-shot illustrating Luna Lovegood's thoughts, inspired by the song "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell, which is a truly amazing song. Enjoy! :)**

**I don't really know what brought this on, I was just listening to the song, and I thought about how clouds might look from both sides, and Luna Lovegood and her eccentric character came to mind almost straight away.**

**I own neither Harry Potter by JKR nor the song "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell.**

…

_I've looked at clouds from both sides now_

_From up and down, and still somehow_

_It's cloud illusions I recall_

_I really don't know clouds at all_

-Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

…

Clouds always looked so peaceful from the ground.

Their wispy and delicate forms slowly meandering across an azure blue sky, without a care in the world. Their beautifully intricate shapes wandering carefully through a field of inky blue sky, scattered with shining stars.

Luna had always loved watching them.

In her early days at Hogwarts, when she had no friends and was just Loony Lovegood, the eccentric Ravenclaw who always tucked her wand behind her ear and spent her days alone, cloud gazing was her primary entertainment. During the day, she would lie beside The Black Lake, dipping her feet in the water, observing the patterns they made. At night, she would curl up in her favourite seat next to the largest window in Ravenclaw Tower, and watch, through the silk blue curtains, how clouds were illuminated by starlight, and how they drifted freely across the velvety heavens.

Clouds always looked so peaceful from the ground without a care in the world. They were free, and no-one could stop them. And Luna, in some ways, couldn't wait to be up amongst them, to be as free as a bird, without a care in the world, slowly exploring the world from a different perspective.

But time passed. Luna grew up, and Luna made friends. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville. They were her new friends. Suddenly, her solitary time was replaced with a whirlwind of chatter and smiles with her new friends, and she loved it.

She grew up, she fought in the battle, she saw people die, she travelled the world, she met countless people, she discovered animals and plants, she met Rolf, she had Lorcan and Lysander, she lived.

Her days were no longer empty and sometimes lonely; she no longer relied upon the clouds to entertain her. She had people who cared about her.

Of course, some nights and some days, Luna would lie down on the ground and stare up at the expansive universe above her, observing her old friends that were the clouds. But now, it was no longer with envy. She still admired their peace, and she still admired their carefree existence, but on the ground, everything was fine, and everything was peaceful as it was. She no longer sought freedom amongst them.

And so, Luna remained firmly on the ground, and the rest of her life passed gently and beautifully, filled with Rolf twirling her round, and Lorcan and Lysander hugging her, and exploring new places, and discovering new creatures, and reminiscing fond memories with her friends in The Leaky Cauldron.

Eventually, Luna's time came. Her time came before any of her friends, before her darling Rolf's, well before her beautiful sons.

Sure, up in the sky, she met those acquaintances she lost in the war, she reunited with her parents and she met the martyrs that she had heard so much about, but none of them were _her_ friends, really.

And, now, Luna is up in the clouds that she had once envied and that she once wanted to be part of, so peaceful and free. But instead of peace, she feels something she hasn't felt for a long time. She feels lonely. She wants her friends, she wants her Rolf, she wants her life. But she is the first one gone.

She is alone.

And now, as she sits amongst the clouds, they are no longer wispy, fragile curls of water vapour peacefully floating across the sky. They are a thick blanket separating her from those she loves and those she wants to be with, a shield she is unable to penetrate.

So Luna sits in the clouds and she waits for Rolf. And she waits for Neville. And Ginny. And Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dean. She waits for them alone.

Clouds always looked peaceful from the ground. But Luna learnt that from the sky, they are lonely instead, and block out all she cares about.

She's looked at clouds from both sides now, but now they only separate her from those she loves.

She thought she knew the clouds, she thought that they were her friends that she understood greatly, but now from a different perspective, she is not so sure.

And, after all, Luna really doesn't know clouds at all.


End file.
